Investment Planning in an Era of Uncertainty

*John E. Oden, Principal, AllianceBernstein L.P.
*Stuart Rae, Chief Investment Officer, Pacific Basin Value Equities Services, AllianceBernstein L.P.

Financial Services Committee

Learn more about navigating the challenges of this uncertain market environment, including the risks of attempted market timing, among others.

Investors are still reeling from the negative efffects of the equity markets in 2008, which experienced substantial losses across all industries and geographies. Though 2009 allowed them to recover some of their capital and confidence, market volatility this year has been high and most equity investments have experienced losses. On the other hand, most fixed income investments have provided positive returns in both years, which has given credence to thoughtful investment planning and asset allocation decisions, tailored to the financial circumstances of each individual investor. Mr. John E. Oden and Mr. Stuart Rae will present historical market data in light of the current world economic conditions that will place the experiences of recent years in the global equity and bond markets in perspective--and draw conclusions about how to mitigate risk and organize an investment portfolio.

Mr. John E. Oden is a Principal and 20 year veteran in the private client practice of AllianceBernstein L.P. He is responsible for a wide variety of the firm’s clients, which include family offices and high net worth individuals, endowments and foundations, corporations and pension funds, and trusts and estates. In addition to his responsibilities within the U.S., he has taken an active role in the global expansion of the firm's private client practice, particularly in Asia and the UK, and works with a number of the firm’s offshore clients. Mr. Oden is Vice Chairman of the NY Branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), an international organization for professional advisors involved in cross-border tax and estate matters. He also sits on a number of non-profit boards and investment committees. Mr. Oden holds BA and MBA degrees from the University of Texas, and divides his time between Hong Kong and New York.

 

Mr. Stuart Rae is Chief Investment Officer of AllianceBernstein's Pacific Basin Value Equities services - Australia, Asia ex-Japan and China A share - and responsible for management of the Bernstein research teams in Sydney and Hong Kong. Now based in Hong Kong, he joined in 1999 as a research analyst covering European consumer cyclical stocks. Previously, Mr. Rae was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. for six years in Australia and the United Kingdom. Mr. Rae earned a B.S. (with honors) from Monash University in Australia and a Ph.D in physics from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.